Erling Haaland Forces England's Journalists To Submit

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 14: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring the team's ... [+] second goal during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester City at Goodison Park on May 14, 2023 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

Half an hour into Manchester City’s game against Everton Erling Haaland had touched the ball just once.

Wary of the threat the tall Norwegian marksman holds the Toffees had clogged the centre of the field with bodies.

However, at this stage of the Premier League season, regular viewers know better than to assume a lack of involvement in the play is an indication of weakness.

Game after game Haaland has barely been involved and then scored with one of his few touches.

Sure enough, barely had the graphics of his meager contribution left the screen when he powered a header past the flailing Jordan Pickford to make it 0-2 to Manchester City before the half-time whistle blew.

It was his 52nd goal of the season and took his current record-breaking Premier League tally to 36.

Scoring against Everton also meant only three of the 19 other sides in the division have managed to keep Haaland from netting.

It capped off a fine week for the Manchester City man after being named the English Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year [FWA].

The prize, voted for by the top soccer journalists in the country, has often produced some less obvious winners but this year there was little doubt, Haaland secured 80% of the vote.

Such a landslide was an indication of the degree to which sections of the English media are eating humble pie.

After the Norwegian blazed a shot against the bar in his debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield judgments were dished out.

The early season opener was billed as a clash between Liverpool and Manchester City’s two big-money signings, Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland, so the response was reduced to this comparison.

“Darwin Nunez comes out on top, Erling Haaland struggles” roared the BBC's headline with the outlet concluding that “the season-opening Community Shield between Liverpool and Manchester City was billed as a battle of two new strikers - and there was no doubting who came out on top.

“Reds supporters have a new hero in Darwin Nunez, who immediately showed what prompted the club to pay Benfica [$83 million] with a debut to remember.”

The Athletic meanwhile produced a detailed tactical analysis about how “Haaland made clever runs but Nunez gave lesson in how to attack space in behind.”

Perhaps it would have been wiser to listen to someone who’d played the game at the highest level.

Former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney’s conclusion from the game was very different from the people in the press box.

“The Erling Haaland I watched is going to dominate the league” he declared in his column for The Times of London.

“City’s new striker will need to be patient but golden boot and a goal-a-game ratio are not beyond him this season,” Rooney added.

An even shrewder judgment was made by the Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer who declared before the Norwegian had even signed: “Put Erling Haaland or Harry Kane in that City team and you’re pretty much guaranteed 40 goals a season,” in several different outlets.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 14: Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, celebrate ... [+] after the team's victory during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester City at Goodison Park on May 14, 2023 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

As I’ve explained before an analysis of Haaland’s figures before he joined Manchester City indicated this level of brilliance was in many regards to be expected.

The striker’s chance conversion rate was the best in Europe and he was joining the team who created the most opportunities on the continent.

A better question is: why he is so effective?

Haaland’s aversion to revealing too much in interviews and his incredible numbers lead many to lazy descriptions of him as a robot or superhuman.

But the obvious answer to why the Norwegian has been such a success is a down-to-earth humble attitude.

It was evident in his words after being handed the FWA crown, where he heaped praise on others.

“I have loved my time at City so far – my teammates are incredible, and they provide me with the chances to score goals. I want to thank all of them, because I could not have won this award without them,” he said.

“I also owe so much to [manager] Pep [Guardiola] and the team behind the team here at City. Everybody has been so good to me since I joined and I have never worked with such top professionals.”

He added: “I am now focused on ensuring I finish the season as strongly as possible and helping City win trophies”

Not getting too high from success or low from failure is crucial for athletes at the highest level.

Haaland possesses the ability to keep things at an equilibrium, when the BBC was proclaiming him lesser than Nunez you can hardly imagine him taking notice.

A clear illustration of his level-headedness came moments after he crashed that easy opportunity against the crossbar in the Charity Shield.

In the aftermath of the miss, the camera caught Haaland smiling to himself.

The images, which have become an instant social media classic, are now used to say one thing: he knew what was coming.

Now the journalists do too.